Shelf bracket construction



Oct. 30, 1934. H. F. KEIL SHELF BRACKET CONSTRUCTION Filed March 19 952B I y 20 ETTORNEYS Patented Oct. 30,1934

PATENT OFFICE SHELF BRACKET CONSTRUCTION Henry F. Keil, Scarsdale, N.Y., assignor to Francis Keil & Son, Inc., a corporation of New YorkApplication March 19,

I 19 Claims.

This invention relates to bracket construction.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a simple, practical,durable, and inexpensive bracket construction particularly oftheadjustable type such as is used for supporting shelving. Another objectis to provide a light but strong, neat, and compact bracket constructionof the above-mentioned character. Another object is to provide aconstruction of the above-mentioned character which may be easilyinstalled, easily and quickly readjusted to suit the particular needsand requirements met with, and which will require a minimum, if any,skill or manipulation of parts in installation or in readjustment.Another object is to provide a construction of the abovementionedcharacter in which the assembly of the parts may be maintained in asimple, inexpensive, and thoroughly reliable and practical way. Anotherobject is to provide a bracket construction of the above-mentionedcharacter in which sheet metal stock may be reliably employed while atthe same time side sway or similar insecurity of the bracket arm isdependably prevented and, moreover, in a thoroughly reliable andpractical and yet simple way. Another object is to provide aconstruction of the above-mentioned character in which troublesomemanipulation and manual tightening or manual securing of parts to bringabout assembly or disassembly respectively are construction of theabove-mentioned character capable of inexpensive and rapid quantityproduction at lost cost and in which maintenance difliculties orsupervision is reliably eliminated.

Other objects will be in part obvious or in part pointed outhereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will beexemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scopeof the application of which will be indicated in the following claims. I

In the accompanying drawing in which are shown several embodiments ofcertain features of my invention,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a bracketconstruction including a bracket and its support;

, Figure 2 is an end elevation as seen from the left in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional View on an enlarged scale asseen along the line 33 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a View like that of Figure 3 but avoided. Another object isto provide a bracket 1932, Serial No. 599,947

shows another possible form which certain features of my invention maytake;

Figure 5 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a bracketconstruction embodying another embodiment of certain features of myinvention and shows the bracket with its support;

Figure 6 is an end view as seen from the left in Figure 5; and

Figure '7 is a horizontal sectional view as seen along the line 7'7 ofFigure 5.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views in the drawing.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of certain features of myinvention, it might at this point be noted that bracket constructionshave heretofore been employed in which the vertically extending supportfor the bracket is provided with a series of vertically alined slots,sometimes taking the form of so-called keyhole slots or openings intowhich suitably shaped pairs of projections on the bracket itself arereceived and that in such constructions various devices have beenattempted to be employed toinsure a clamping action between the bracketand its vertical support or between certain related parts of thesemembers; the manipulation of these clamping or securing or latchingdevices not only entails increased cost and expense but also entailsdifficulties and troubles in manipulating them, tightening them up tomaintain assembly of the parts, loosening them up to permit readjustmentof the bracket or brackets, and many other practical disadvantages. Byway of further example, such clamping or securing devices oftentimesbecome loose and they result in an unstable mechanical relation of theparts giving rise to side sway and other undesirable and sometimesdangerous conditions. One of the dominant aims of this invention is toprovide a simple, inexpensive, and thoroughly practical construction inwhich such disadvantages and difficulties as those just typified areeliminated in a thoroughly dependable way.

Turning now to the drawing and more particularly to Figure 1, there isshown a bracket generally indicated at 10 and its vertical supportgenerally indicated at 11, both preferably made of sheet metal and theformer preferably made of sheet metal of heavier stock than the latter.The vertically extending support 11 is adapted to be secured to avertical wall, partition, or the like, typified at 12, as by means ofscrews 13-13 whose heads are preferably seated in suitable countersunkopenings in the front or right-hand wall of the member 11.

CJI

The vertical support 11 is made of sheet metal of suitable thickness,preferably somewhat springy material, such as sheet steel, and it isrolled or otherwise formed in a manner more clearly describedhereinafter to include certain parts or portions of which it issuificient at this point to note that it has, referring now to Figure 3,a front wall 11 and vertical side walls 11 and 11 bent at right anglesto the front wall 11 In the front wall 11 and vertically alined alongpreferably the center thereof is a series of rectangular slots bettershown in Figure 2 at 14 suitably spaced from one another. The member 11may be of any desired length,

The slots is are of a width or horizontal dimension as viewed in Figure2 substantially equal to the thickness of the sheet metal bracket 10 or,more accurately speaking, of a horizontal dimension or widthsubstantially equal to the thickness of the hook-shaped extensions 10and 10' (Figures 1, 2 and 3) which, where the bracket 10 is made ofsheet metal, are preferably formed integrally with the main body portionof the bracket 10 and are preferably of the s me thickness as thelatter.

The hook-shaped parts 10 and 10 are preferably rectangular in shape,generally speaking, and are joined to the bracket 10 by neck-likeportions 10 and 10 (Figure l), leaving what might be termed slotsbetween the parts 10 10 and the left-hand or rear straight edge 10 ofthe bracket 10, these slots being of a width substantially equal to thethickness of the sheet metal of the front wall 11 of the support 11.

The parts 1O" and 1%) are of a vertical dimension substantially equal tothe vertical dimer, sion or length of the slots 14 in the member 11 sothat they may be passed freely through any pair of vertically spacedslots 14, the portions of the front wall 11 being snugly and relativelytightly received within the slotted portions of the hook-shaped parts 10and 10 The Vertical supporting member 11 is rolled or otherwise suitablyformed so that the side members 11 and 11 (see Figure 3) haveflange-like parts 11 and 11 bent toward each other and at right anglesto the parts 11 and 11 respectively, lying in a single plane to formvirtually a back wall that is parallel to the front wall 11 (see Figure3).

The vertically extending flange-like back wall portions ll and 11,however, are bent throughout their lengths to provide flange orWinJ-like members ll and 11 (Figure 3) which preferably extend up to andinto contact with the rear face of the front wall. 11 of the support 11,as is better shown in Figure The parts 11 and 11 are parallel to eachother and are spaced apart by a distance substantially equivalent to thewidth of the slots 14 and hence substantially equivalent to thethickness of the hook-shaped parts 10 and 10 of the bracket 10.Preferably, in rolling or otherwise thus forming the member 11, theparts 11 and 11 are spaced apart slightly less than the thickness of thehook-shaped members 10 and 10 of the bracket 10 for a purpose moreclearly described hereinafter.

If new the bracket 10 has its tangs or hookshaped parts 10 and 10 passedthrough two vertically spaced slots 14, they pass not only through theseslots but also come into gripping engagement with the large-facedmembers 11 11 (Figure 3) between which they are forced and securely andfrictionally held; a subsequent downward thrust exerted upon the bracket10 (see Figure 1) now causes the portions in between the vertical slots14 to be received snugly and securely in the snug fitting slots of thehook-shaped members 1010.

The resultant construction is secure and fast; the members l1 ---11(Figure 3) are tightly pressed toward each other and hence against thehook-shaped parts of the bracket 10, an action that is insured by theinherent yieldability of the sheet metal, the conformation, moreover,being such as to insure the dependable maintenance, throughlong-continued use, of this tight and secure frictional gripping. Notonly are the members 11 and 11 somewhat yieldable with respect to theback parts 11 and 11 respectively, but also the yieldability of the sideWalls 11 and 11, which respectively carry the parts 11 l1 and 111lcontributes toward insuring the desired tight gripping of thehook-shaped parts of the bracket 10.

The yieldability is sufficient to permit the assembly of the bracket 10to the vertical support 11 as above described without requiring theapplication of undue manual force but is, moreover, suficient todependably hold the parts assembled against the usual exigencies andabuse occurring in hard practical use. Moreover, looseness of fit isavoided, as is also undesired rattling or vibration of the bracket 10.The latter is virtually made to form a cantilever whose anchored end isdependably and securely anchored against particularly side sway and issecurely held in proper right-angled relation to the plane of the frontwall of the support 11 and hence also to the plane of the wall 12 towhich the bracket construction is secured, this rightangled relationbeing shown in both Figures 1 and 3 through the cantilever constructionabovementioned is intended to and actually does insure the maintenanceof this right-angled relation and absence of side sway as the parts areviewed in Figure 3.

Moreover, the member 11, if shaped to embody such features as thoseabove described, is given great strength and rigidity, particularlygreat resistance to bending in any direction. As appears from Figure 3,it will be noted that there are brought about at least threeright-angled bends on each side of the center longitudinal axis of themember 11 and hence a total of six right-angled bends in the entirecross-section of the member 11. Thus, very great rigidity and strengthis given the member 11 even though a relatively light sheet metal isemployed in making it up. This feature is important particularly wherethe member 11 is of substantial length and supports a plurality ofbrackets 10 spaced along its length with corresponding shelves or thelike carried by the brackets.

Moreover, it acts as a dependable reinforcement to the wall 12 orwhatever other member to which it is attached; oftentimes thisconstruction is employed in show cases where the parts are of necessitylight and in such cases the reinforcement lent by the member 11 is ofgreat advantage.

Also, the rear or left-hand face of the member 11, as viewed in Figures1 and 3 and as shown in elevation in Figure 2, is substantially planeand where the structure is mounted, as is sometimes necessary, so thatportions of the rear face of the member 11 are exposed and hencevisible, the above-described features of construction achieve a highlydesirable neatness of appearthe hook-shaped parts of the bracket 10 arereceived and gripped by their free ends are bent apart as at 11 and 11thus to form the hookreceiving slot with a forwardly flared or taperedend to facilitate the reception of the hook-shaped parts 10 and 10 intogripping relation with the parallel portions ll and 11 This constructionis particularly advantageous where the spring action of themetal is ofsubstantial character and causes the gripping members 11 and 11 to exerta strong gripping force.

In many instances where shelves and bracket supports therefor areutilized, particularly in show cases or the like, it is frequentlydesirable to provide for the electric illumination of the goods ormaterial displayed on the shelves supported by the brackets, and one ofthe difficulties met with in meeting this desire is the manner oflocation and concealment of the conductors leading to the electric lampor other electric appliance that may be employed. Such difficulties,however, I effectively eliminate by way of my invention inasmuch as theupper and lower halves, as viewed in Figure 3, of the member 11, asidefrom functioning as above-described, I utilize to house or run thecircuit conductors therethrough. Thus, in Figure 3 I have shown aninsulated conductor 16 extending through the tube-like half formed bythe parts 11 -11 11 11 and a mating insulated conductor 17 housed withinand run through the lower or other tube-like half formed by the parts ll-ll ll ll Or, as illustratively shown in. Figure 4, I may run a suitabletube-like conductor-carrying member 18 made of insulating material oreven of flexible metal tubing, carrying the conductors 1617 i therein,through the, tube-like conduit formed by the support 11. l

Thus, the conductors of the electric circuit are safely and dependablyhoused and are also concealed, thus avoiding unsightly apearance) InFigures 5, 6 and 7 I have illustrated a possible modified embodiment ofcertain features of my invention in which I provide a bracket, 10constructed similarly as that above-described in connection with Figures1-4 inclusive. The vertical support, however, is of composite construction and comprises a vertically extending member generally indicated at20, preferably made of sheet metal which may be easily rolled to give ita front wall 20 and side flanges or side walls 26 and 209; the frontwall 20 (see Figure 6) is provided with slots 14 similarly shaped andrelated as are the slots 14 of the member 11 of Figures 1 and 2.

The upper and lower ends of the member 20 1 are provided withcountersunk openings to receive screws 13 to secure it to a wall 12.

But seated into the rear of the channel member 20 is a sheet metalmember 21 (Figures 6 and 7) which is also shaped so that it may beeconomically fabricated as by rolling. It is preferably made of sheetmetal having good inherent spring qualities.

The member 21 is provided with side wings 21 and 21 which are bent upout of the front wall part 21 a central portion of which is rolled orshaped or otherwise formed as at 21 to provide a longitudinallyextending recess 21 generally of rectangular cross-section whosehorizontal dimension is at least as great as the horizontal di mensionof the parts 10 and 10 (Figure of the bracket so that these parts may bereceived therein and whose transverse dimension (vertical dimension asviewed in Figure 7) proximates the thickness of the hook-shaped parts 10or 10 being preferably less than the thickness but yieldingly so as ispointed out below. The right-hand or open end of the slot 21 in themember 21 registers with the vertically alined slots 14 in the member20.

The member 21 is fitted into the channelshaped support but it is soshaped that the side walls 21 and 21 of the central portion 21 areyieldingly pressed toward each other. This action may be achieved, forexample, by the spring action between these two side walls and theconnecting portion 21* or it may be achieved by the spring reaction ofthe side wings or side walls 21 and 21? (Figure 7) against the sidewalls 20 and 20, respectively, of the channel member 20, or preferablyby both of these actions acting together.

The flanges 20 and 20 are preferably bent at right angles to the frontwall 20 (Figure '7) of the channel member 20, but the angle betweenparts 21 and 21= and between the parts 21 and 21' of the member 21 ispreferably an obtuse angle, as appears clearly in Figure 7, so that thespring reaction of the parts Zi and .21 may better force the portions 21and 21 into secure but yieldingly gripping relation to the hook-shapedparts l0 and 10 of the bracket 10, thus supple menting the inherentgripping of the parts The member 21 is preferably simply snapped orinserted into the rear of the channel member 20 and is locked in placewhen the latter is secured to the-wall 12 as by the screws 13 (seeFigures 5 and 6). As a bracket lll has its hook-shaped parts 10 and 16inserted through two selected spaced slots 14 in the member 20, thehook-shaped parts are forced into this yielding but secure grip of theparts 21 and 21 the bracket in being thus dependably held in place,particularly also after the bracket 10 has been moved downwardlysuiiiciently to cause the hook-shaped parts 10 and l0 (Figure 5 to ridedown in back of the unslotted portions of the front wall 20 of thechannel member 20, Here again, accidental dislodgment of the partsisprevented, the necessity of manipulating screws, bolts, latches,orother devices is avoided, looseness of fit and consequent rattling orvibration eliminated, while side sway of the bracket 10 is likewiseprevented. In this latter connection, the member 21 dependably anchorsthe anchored end of the bracket 1U which in this respect virtuallyassumes the form of a cantilever, and intended right-angled alinement isdependably achieved and maintained.

The right-hand or forward portions of the otherwise parallel grippingwalls 21 and 21 I T may, referring again to Figure 7, bend as at 21 and21 to form a flared or tapered front end to the vertical slot 21 thus tofacilitate the insention of the hook-shaped parts of the bracket 10 andthus also better to concentrate, much in the same manner as with theconstruction shown in Figure 4, the gripping action toward the rearportions of the hook-shaped parts 10 and 10 and side sway of the bracket10.

The member 21 (Figures 6 and '7) being snugly housed wit-l7 in themember 20 and encased thereby when the latter is mounted in position,also lends to the vertical composite support for the bracket or brackets10 a great rigidity and strength, achieving great resistance to warpingor bending and thus also reinforcing the part or parts to which thecomposite support is attached. Also, if the parts 20-2l are mounted soas to be exposed from the left as viewed in Figure 5, unsightlyappearance is avoided and a neatly appearing structure achieved which iseasily decorated and is easily kept clean.

If it is desirable to associate with the construction of Figures 5, 6and '7 any conductors of any electric circuit, such conductors (seeFigure 7) may be carried individually or in any suitable number throughone or both of the hollow spaces formed on either side of the portion 21and in Figure "I 1' have illustrated conductors 2223 housed within andrun through the conduit formed by the wall 12 and portions 21 21 and 21,the conductors being of any suitably insulated character such is used ininterior wiring work; or, if desired, the conductors 22-23 may be runthrough a tube-like insulating or metal conduit 24 housed within thesame space or channel and in Figure '7 I have illustratively shown thisarrangement housed within the conduit formed by the wall 12 and theparts 21 21 and 21.

In any case (illustratively as in Figures 3, 4 or '7) the brackets maybe inserted into the vertical support and readjusted or changed in theirpositions or relations to each other as desired, all without interferingor contacting with the electric circuit conductors, the latter beingsafely and dependably protected and encased and held free from beinginterfered with by any inwardly projecting hook-shaped parts of thebracket or brackets.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided in this invention abracket construction in which the various objects above noted, togetherwith many thoroughly practical advantages are -successfully achieved. Itwill be seen that the structure is simple, inexpensive, and lends itselfto inexpensive and rapid manufacture, being particularly .vell ada Ledto be made up by such speedy and inexpensive operations as stampingrolling. Moreover, it will be seen that the constructions are of athoroughly practical character, make for ease of readjustment as well asof installation, are neat compact, and well adapted to meet the varyingconditions of hard practical use.

As many possible embodiments may be made in the above invention and asmany changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is tobe understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in theaccompanyins drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

1. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supporting memberhaving a plurality of slots therein and having a pair of spaced grippingmembers alined with said slots, said gripping members being inherentlyyieldable and normally assuming positions such that they are spacedapart by a distance less than the width of the slots, a bracket having apair of hooked-shaped members adapted to be passed respectively throughtwo of sai slots and then upon movement lengthwise of said supportingmember to take in back of said supporting member, said hook-shapedmembers having a thickness greater than the spacing between saidgripping members, whereby said gripping members are forced apart by saidhook-shaped members and the latter are yieldingly gripped thereby andheld against movement lengthwise of said supporting member.

2. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supporting membermade of sheet metal of channel cross-section and having its flanges bentinwardly to terminate in spaced relation, said supporting member havinga plurality of vertically alined slots in the front wall thereof, and abracket having a hook-shaped member adapted to be passed through a slotand to take in back of the front wall of said supporting member, saidhook-shaped member extending rearwardly of the front wall to an extentsufficient to be received in the space between said bent flanges.

3. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supporting membermade of sheet metal of channel cross-section and having its flanges bentinwardly to terminate in spaced relation, said supporting member havinga plurality of vertically alined slots in the front wall thereof, and abracket having a hook-shaped member adapted to be passed through a slotand to take in back of the front wall of said supporting member, saidhook-shaped member extending rearwardly of the front wall to an extentsufficient to be received in the space between said bent flanges, saidflanges being yieldable relative to said front wall and the bentportions of said flanges being yieldable relative to the flanges thmselves, whereby said hookshaped member is yieldably gripped under thecombined yielding action of the flanges relative 1"" to the front walland of the bent portions of the flanges relative to the flanges.

4. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supporting membermade of sheet metal of channel cross-section and having its flanges j jbent inwardly to terminate in spaced relation, said supporting memberhaving a plurality of vertically alined slots in the front wall thereof,said flanges being yieldable toward or away from each other,

and a bracket having a member adapted to be received through a slot insaid supporting member and of sufflcient length to extend between and tobe gripped by said bent portions of said flanges.

5. 1n bracket construction, in combination, a

vertical supporting member made of sheet metal and having a channelcross-section, the front wall of which has a plurality of verticallyalined slots and the side flanges of which are bent inwardly intosubstantial parallelism with said front wall and are then bent toprovide portions substantially parallel to each other and parallel tothe side flanges of said supporting member, and a bracket having ahook-shaped member adapted to be received through a slot and to beengaged in between said last-rnentioned parallel portions.

6. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supporting membermade of sheet metal and having a channel cross-section, the front wallof which has a plurality of vertically alined slots and the side flangesof which are bent inwardly y of said supporting member beingsufficiently yieldable and said parallel portions are yieldably urgedtoward each other, and a bracket having a hookshaped part adapted topass through a slot in said front wall and to be yieldingly gripped bysaid parallel portions.

ed to be received through a slot, and upon movement downwardly relativeto said supporting member to take in back of said front wall, saidhook-shaped part projecting rearwardly of said front wall, saidsupporting member being pro ,vided with a pair of opposed means, eachcomprising two portions of sheetmetal extending at an angle to eachother and one part yieldable relative to the other, said opposed meanshaving the yieldable portions thereof normally spaced apart by adistance less than the thickness of said hook-shaped part and adaptedupon yielding to receive therebetweenand yieldably grip and hold a rearportion of said hook-shaped part and thereby to resist movement of saidhoolr-shaped part upwardly and to hold it against unhooking movemeritrelative to said front wall.

8. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supporting,member of channel crosssection and having a plurality of slots in itsfront wall, a bracket having a hook-shaped part adapted to be receivedthrough a slot and then upon movement lengthwise of a slot to take inback of said front wall, said hook-shaped part projecting rearwardly ofsaid front wall, and means projecting inwardly from each of the sideflanges of said supporting member and adapted each to engage one side ofthe rear portion of said hookshaped part to hold it and hence saidbracket against side sway, said two projecting means being normallyspaced apart by a distance less than the thickness of said rear portion,and said side flanges and hence said projecting means being resilientlyseparable to receive between the latter said rear portion and toyieldingly hold it against movement lengthwise of said slot, thereby toprevent unhooking of said part from said supporting member.

9. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supporting memberof channel crosssection and having a plurality of slots in its frontwall, a bracket having a hook-shaped part adapted to be received througha slot and to take in back of said front wall, said hook-shaped partpro- .iecting rearwardly of said front wall, and means integrally formedwith said vertical supporting member and projecting inwardly from theside flanges thereof but terminating in spaced relation for receivingtherebetween the rear portion of said hook-shaped part.

10. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supportingmember of channel crosssection and having a plurality of slots in itsfront wall, a bracket having a hook-shaped part adapted to be receivedthrough a slot and to take in back of said front wall, said hook-shapedpart projecting rearwardly of said front wall, and means accommodatedwithin the channeled supporting member for receiving said hook-shapedpart and having extensions whose support is against the side flanges ofsaid supporting member to transmit any forces tending to sway saidbracket sideways directly to the side flanges of said supporting member.

11. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supportingmember of channel cross-section and having a plurality of slots in itsfront wall, a bracket having a hook-shaped part adapted to be receivedthrough a slot and to take in I back of said front wall, saidhook-shaped part projecting rearwardly of said front wall, and a sheetmetal member bent to have a seat for rece ving a rear portion of saidhook-shaped part and having extensions directed toward and en gagingwith the side flanges of said supporting member.

12. In bracket construction, in combination, a

hollow vertically extending support having a plurality of apertures inits front wall, a bracket having a part adapted to be received throughan aperture and to extend rearwardly of the front wall of said support,and means positioned to the rear of said front wall and comprising twojuxtaposed clamping parts spaced laterally by a distance slightly lessthan the thickness of said bracket part and, extending substantiallycoex tensively with said rearwardly extending bracket part for receivingtherebetween and frictionally gripping said rearwardly extending part ofsaid bracket to hold it against movement relative to said support.

13. In bracket construction, in combination, a hollow verticallyextending support having a plurality of apertures in its front wall, abracket having a part adapted to be received through an aperture and toextend rearwardly of the front wall of support, and continuous meansextending lengthwise of and within said. hollow support and providingtwo parts between which raid rearwardly extending part of said bracketis received and held, said two parts extending along all of saidapertures and hence being positioned to engage said bracket partirrespective of through which aperture said part is received.

14. In bracket construction, in combination, a

combined vertical supporting and conductor-carrying member made of sheetmetal and having a front wall with a series of vertically alinedapertures, a bracket having means adapted to be received through anaperture and to project rearwardly of said front wall, said memberhaving side flanges bent toward each other and then inwardly toward thefront wall to provide a space therebetween for said bracket means and toprovide hollow channels, one on each side of the plane of said bracketmeans, for housing an electric conductor.

15. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supportingmember made of sheet metal and provided with a plurality of slots in itsfront wall, and a bracket having a hook-shaped part adapted to bereceived through a slot and to take in back of said front wall, saidsheet metal member being bent in cross-section to provide two rearwardlydirected side walls and a rear wall made up of inwardly bent flangesfrom said side walls, said flanges terminating at points to receivetherebetween the hook-shaped part of said bracket.

16. In bracket construction, in combination, a

vertical supporting member made of sheet metal and having a channelcross-section, the front wall of which has a plurality of verticallyalined slots and the side flanges of which extend substantially at rightangles to the wall to which said supporting member may be secured, thusforming a conduit for receiving an insulated conductor, a bracket havinga part adapted to be received through a slot in said supporting memberand to project into said conduit, and spaced sheet metal means extendinglengthwise of and within said supporting member, one on each side ofsaid vertically aiined slots, to receive therebetween said partirrespective of through which slot said part is received and to shieldsaid conductor from engagement with said part as the latter is insertedthrough a slot.

17. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supoprtingmember made of sheet metal and having a channel cross-section, the frontwall of which has a plurality of vertically alined slots and the sideflanges of which extend substantially at right angles to the wall towhich said supporting member may be secured, thus forming a conduit forreceiving an sulated conductor, a bracket having a part d to be receivedthrough a sl t in aid supporting member and to project into saidconduit, and means sub-dividing said conduit throughout its len th intothree channels, one of which is alined with and open to said verticallyalined slots for the reception of said part irrespective of throughwhich slot said part is inserted and the remaining two of which arerespectively on either side of said partreceiving channel, either ofwhich is adapted to receive said insulated conductor whereby saidconductor is prevent d from interfering with said part.

3.8. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supportingmember made of sheet metal and having a channel cross-section, the frontwall of which has a plurality of vertically alined slots and the sideflanges of which extend at a substantial angle to said front wall, abracket having a hook-shaped part adapted to be passed through one ofsaid slots and upon relative lengthwise movement between said bracketand said supporting member to take in back of said front wall, and apair of spaced sheet metal members extending lengthwise of saidsupporting member and to the rear of said front wall, the space betweensaid spaced members being alined with said vertically alined slotswhereby said hook-shaped member is received between said spaced members,said spaced members being divergent along their edges adjacent saidfront wall to provide flared guiding side walls for guiding saidhook-shaped part into said space. i

19. In bracket construction, in combination, a vertical supportingmember made of sheet metal and provided with a plurality of slots in itsfront wall, and a bracket having a hook-shaped part adapted to bereceived through a slot and to take in back of said front Wall, saidsheet metal member being bent in cross-section to provide two rearwardlydirected side walls and a wall made up of inwardly bent flanges fromsaid side walls, said inwardly bent flanges giving support to means thatextend toward said front wall, said means being spaced to receivetherebetween the hook-shaped part of said bracket.

HENRY F. FLEIL.

